Over-coming negligence

About twenty years ago, there was a joke told of a renowned Ethiopian folk-singer who had visited one of the Eastern European countries together with a group of performers, who is no more in control of his earthly possessions. The joke was live among the Ethiopians who used to live then in that place.
From the moment of the arrival of the Ethiopian artistic troupe at the airport, the person who was assigned to them as counterpart was so close to the team leader, that he had always found some odd things to tease him. One day, during their sojourn, this man suddenly saw the team leader rehearsing in his room with a baboon’s fur on his head, and remarked that he had almost mistaken him for an African monkey and quipped that such monkeys don’t have sharp brains. The lead-man who had a dark complexion himself, took those words as being alluded to him and retorted that the African monkeys are far intelligent than some of the mischievous animals around him—meaning his counterpart.
On the planned day of return, the man called on the group and checked with the team-leader if they were ready for departure to the airport. The team-leader, as usual, bright as his snow-white teeth that dominate his face assured his counterpart that everything was immaculately in order and that they were at hand for the trip. So, the hotel porters carried down everything and charged the vehicles with all personal effects and musical instruments.
They left for the airport in good mood, which was a good drive away. When they were unloading their goods at the airport, the team-leader suddenly jumped in annoyance that his fur, spear and shield were left in the hotel. The plane was almost ready for take off at this time and everything was to be postponed. The man, teaser as he was, had not spent a moment when he seized the opportunity to use his wit again for the last time. “Didn’t I tell you, my friend, that the African monkeys haven’t got sharp brains?” so, said he, looking into the troupe-leader’s small but frightened eyes.
I think this episode is instructive for many of us to start to be in shape and start to live up to expectation. When we assume responsibilities, those missions have to be fulfilled with honesty, diligence and consciousness. We should not blame ourselves for the errors we make, but, we should be concerned about them rather.
Is it not confusing to magnify the winning ambiance of a restaurant and only to find it soon with uninviting lavatories? Or, is it not self-defeating to talk in a grandiloquent language about the impressive surroundings of a particular place, e.g., of a church, only to find its grave-yard in a squalid condition? Whose responsibility should it be to clean the grave-yard so that mourners can enjoy the serenity and beauty of the place for casual visit and as a last retreat—the church, the believers, the poor that cluster around, or all of them?
Recently an English publication had reported a very tragic event involving the death of an expatriate at one of the Langano resorts caused by negligence. If the resort’s administration had been vigilant enough to the extent of introducing a check-list as to what its customers had to observe, the tragedy could have been averted. For all that, a lake-side resort, where families with their children enjoy swimming, to maintain the area without a life-saver, is a big mistake, indeed. Alas! Let it only provide a lesson for all those in the same business to share, at least, one life-saver among them who could be approached on call.
It seems to me that as Africans, due to different besetting circumstances, our IQs could be lower than some other races—but, not as bad as feared—but, should I doubt our abilities to overcome negligence and live up to the expected, if not to perfection? So, developing our thinking faculties is important, but not as important as exerting efforts to pay attention to essentials at every level and stage of our social and economic developments. What is worse is neglecting one’s responsibility. I have been to my own business club one bright morning with a view to paying my monthly dues, when I felt I should take a cup of coffee first, only to discover that there was no service, as no body was around. I asked the accountant whom I met why the people we pay monthly salaries were absent. He said it was usual; and when I asked for the administrator to lodge my complaints, neither was he present.
When one talks about the Prussian precision, one should feel it as a century inheritance of the peoples’ elevated consciousness, love for details and interest in leaving no stone unturned in the process of accomplishment of a task. Can we not be a quarter precise of that precision? Can we not overcome the barriers that deter us from living up to the expected, or perfection if possible, or at least to overcome negligence? Why do we feel great when we are, in actual fact, not even closer to it; and why do we pretend to show right personality outwardly, while we have, in reality, a wrong one inwardly?
If we cannot come out of such a kind of vicious circle in time, the desired level of progress will be a too distant and expensive objective to achieve. So let’s come out of the obstacles of our own makings and over-come our negligence.